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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29870421">Ghost of a Surgeon's Past</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alruix/pseuds/Alruix'>Alruix</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Grey's Anatomy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:49:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,657</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29870421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alruix/pseuds/Alruix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellis Grey was an expert at making a mess of things. What happens when an old mess resurfaces? She was sure that her secrets were buried (metaphorically and literally). Or were they? </p><p>This summary is very vague, but I don't want to give too much away. </p><p>After the prologue, the story will start around 5x06. </p><p>*Meredith centric, with main cast from season 5*</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Setting the stage) The prologue takes place in the past *1995*</p>
<hr/><p>Twelve years ago, Ellis Grey did something impulsive. It was an act made purely from emotion, and she was not viewed as emotional by those who knew her. </p><p>She moved herself and her daughter across the country to Boston. She had told Thatcher about the affair in anticipation of Richard telling Adele. Thatcher left, which made no sense since he had already known for quite some time. What she wasn’t expecting was Richard leaving her too. They both planned on telling their spouses, but Richard broke her heart when he told her he was going to work on his marriage, and that was that. </p><p>Thatcher had already started a new family. He had a kid, and she didn’t bother to learn the child’s name. Frankly, it disgusted her how quickly he had forgotten his five year old daughter. </p><p>She fell out of love with Thatcher long ago, and she doubted she was ever <em> in </em> love with him. But he stayed with her out of obligation to Meredith. Thatcher was waiting for Ellis to reveal her affair, so he could look like the victim when he left. No matter the intervening factors, the truth was: they were both gone.</p><p>Losing everything all at once made her run. Shortly after her arrival in Boston, she gave birth and made sure the child was adopted by a loving couple. </p><p>Two years later, she was pregnant again. A single, poorly thought out choice led to a one night stand. One time, that’s all it took. That time was different though. Ellis had noticed how lonely Meredith had gotten, and it hurt her to see her daughter that way, but she would never be caught showing it. </p><p>For Meredith, she decided to keep the baby. </p><p>Then things went drastically wrong. Her attempts to let Meredith have a normal childhood vanished when she miscarried. </p><p>After her miscarriage, she found her mind leaping back into the past.</p><p>Her first baby was diagnosed with HLHS, which is short for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. To put it simply, the left side of the heart hadn’t developed correctly, and couldn’t pump blood to the body properly. In 1976, there were not many things to be done to save a child with said disease. The Norwood procedure was performed the first time in 1979; only three years too late. At the time and without the NW procedure, mortality rates were high, but considered low compared to the child’s age as he or she grew older.</p><p>Ellis was told that after birth, her baby died. The surgery was unsucessful. Simple as that.</p><p>Needless to say, she was shocked when a young woman showed up on her doorstep claiming to be her previously dead daughter. </p><p>“Who’s at the door? You’re letting all the cold air in,” her daughter’s voice rang from the stairs, and Ellis was taken out of her trance.</p><p>“Not now, Meredith,” Ellis said harshly.</p><p>Meredith ignored her mother and went to see the visitor anyways. They almost never got any. Her eyes locked with the young woman, and she wondered why someone so young would visit someone so...she stopped her thought, afraid of her mother’s reaction even if her words were inside her own head. She left it alone and went back upstairs to plan the night’s party, as her mother would be on the night shift. </p><p>Ellis waited for the sound of Meredith closing her bedroom door before speaking.</p><p>“My daughter’s dead,” she said flatly.</p><p>“That is a lie in your mind, since you clearly have a living daughter. She’s pretty.”</p><p>“What do you want? Money?” Ellis asked, as if it were normal to have someone pretend to be a long-lost relative.</p><p>“Nothing of the sorts. Just curious about the person who brought me into this world.”</p><p>“I’ll bite. <em> Theoretically </em>, if you miraculously lived, where have you been for almost two decades?”</p><p>“Various places. After my ‘mom’ died, I bounced around her family members’ houses, and some of my friends’ houses as well. I only learned about you recently.”</p><p>“Is that so?”</p><p>“I needed my tonsils removed and it turns out that I didn’t have a proper birth certificate. I overheard one of the doctor’s saying it was forged. My friend helped me do a deep search to find my real parents...and here I am. Hi!” the girl gave a small, awkward wave.</p><p>Ellis was contemplating the nineteen year old’s existence, still reeling from the news that her baby was alive and standing before her. Her brain tried to deny it, or explain it away; but the girl looked exactly the same as Ellis when she was her age.</p><p>She continued weighing her options when she heard Meredith thundering down the stairs. And that’s when she made the choice. She shut the front door before Meredith could ask Ellis or the visitor who she was. </p><p>Meredith was destined for great things, and there was absolutely no way she would let her life be derailed. Even if it meant choosing one daughter over the other. </p><p>“Who was that?”</p><p>Ellis realized that she hadn’t even gotten her eldest daughter’s name.</p><p>“No one. Now, go back upstairs and finish your schoolwork.”</p><p>She made her way back to her room, but it was not for homework. Usually when her mother used that tone, she would have a few hours to herself. She valued the precious time alone.</p><p>Ellis sat down at the table, seemingly in deep thought. All the holes from that day suddenly returned to her memory. There was no body, and the delivery doctor took the baby with him as he left. That wasn’t so odd, but the room was not set up for any kind of procedure, save for her C-section.</p><p>She had long since suspected that her child had become a victim of infant abductions. Ellis’ daughter was alive! Her child hadn’t had HLHS and she was merely shown copies of another woman’s scans. Ellis was a doctor for goodness sake! She chastised herself for not noticing the photos were faked.</p><p>Four kids. That’s how many she had, but never planned on any of them. She just found out her oldest was alive, and then there’s Meredith. There was also the daughter she signed away her rights to, and then the baby she miscarried. It didn’t matter that the baby would never have a chance to live, he would forever be her child.  </p><p>Ellis could see the upstairs hallway from her seat at the kitchen table. She looked at her daughter’s closed bedroom door. She faintly smelled smoke, and decided she would reprimand Meredith later.</p><p>Standing up from her seat, she pulled out her Nokia 2110 and dialed the last person she expected to call. </p><p>He picked up immediately.</p><p>“Ellis,” the man said happily.</p><p>“Thatcher.”</p><p>“Not to be rude or anything, but uh..why are you calling?” he sounded nervous, and worried if it was about Meredith.</p><p>“Remember our dead daughter?”</p><p>Thatcher felt like a knife had been lodged into his heart and someone twisted it.</p><p>“How could I not?”</p><p>Ellis ripped the band-aid off, “She’s alive. You should be expecting a visit from her soon.”</p><p>She promptly hung up after her blunt words, leaving Thatcher to pick up the mess.</p>
<hr/><p>“Wha-what?” he stuttered, not realizing she had hung up on him. Ellis was a cruel woman for joking like this. Then again, Ellis didn’t joke. He knew it was true. Thatcher already abandoned one daughter, could he really abandon another?</p><p>“Honey?” his wife’s voice was laced with concern after noticing how pale he was.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” she asked after he didn’t answer.</p><p>“My daughter’s alive,” he muttered.</p><p>“Of course Meredith’s alive, why wouldn’t she be?” she looked at Thatcher, who was shaking his head.</p><p>“Not Meredith,” he looked at Susan. “I had another daughter before her, and she died. I don’t understand, how could she be alive?”</p><p>Susan put her questions aside and wrapped her arms around her husband, who still looked like he could collapse at any moment.</p><p>The next day, Susan was making coffee for her and Thatcher when Lexie came skipping into the room. She stopped short when she noticed her father who looked sick.</p><p>“Dad?” came the eleven year old’s voice. “Are you okay?”</p><p>Thatcher was growing more anxious. The chances of his dead daughter showing up were increasing by the second.</p><p>“Yes sweetie, I’m fine. Are you ready for school?” he smiled. </p><p>Lexie nodded. She was always ready to learn. It was a great mystery to her parents how they ended up with such a wonderful child. Molly came traipsing into the room, and rubbed her eyes sleepily. She was only nine, but still had the attitude of a teenager, and they were not ready for teenager’s yet. They needed to stay young.</p><p>He glanced at Susan, and she led Lexie and Molly to the car to take them to school. Not long after they drove off, the doorbell rang.</p><p>“Here we go.”</p><p>Thatcher straightened out his shirt, and stood tall as he opened the front door.</p><p>“Thatcher Grey?” the young woman asked.</p><p>“Yes?” he asked, as if he had no clue who she was.</p><p>“I uh-” she paused. She didn’t want to be rejected again. “I’m um..”</p><p>“My daughter,” he finished, smiling at her.</p><p>She looked at him like a deer in the headlights. <em> Ellis had called him? Of course she did, I should’ve expected that. </em>She stood still, completely unsure of what he would do. </p><p>“Come here,” he said, pulling her into a hug. </p><p>Thatcher led her into the kitchen and gave her a cup of coffee. She took it gratefully, and they sat in awkward silence. She wondered what would happen next. Would he take her in? Would she have to go back to crashing at a friend’s house until she had enough money for an apartment? </p><p>She didn’t know what would happen next, and it scared the crap out of her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A/N - Nothing big, just one different little detail. Meredith didn't meet Owen until he officially started working at Seattle Grace. Changed to keep it consistent with the story.</p><hr/><p>Some scenes have been taken and/or altered from episode 5x06</p><hr/><p>"Grey!" came Dr. Bailey's voice thundering from the end of the hall.</p><p>She immediately found herself wondering what she did to incur the chief resident's wrath.</p><p>"Yes, Dr. Bailey?" she asked, almost breathlessly. She'd been charting, which meant darting back and forth between patient rooms. Her interns were useless, and she preferred to do them herself. She was about to be a third year resident, which meant she would no longer have interns. Meredith couldn't have been happier about that.</p><p>"Chief wants to see you," she stated, then proceeded to give Meredith her infamous 'Bailey' look.</p><p>"Any idea why?"</p><p>"No, and that doesn't matter. If the chief summons, you go runnin'. Simple. Now, go!"</p><p>Meredith fumbled with the charts in her hand, and gave them to a nurse for safekeeping. Unsure of how important the matter was, she chose to walk at a faster pace just to be safe.</p><p>Barely two minutes later, she stood outside Webber's office.</p><p>"Chief?" she asked after knocking lightly on the door.</p><p>"Come in!"</p><p>She could tell his voice was light, which was a good sign. Maybe she wasn't in trouble.</p><p>"You paged?"</p><p>He smiled before speaking, "I did. I'd like to talk to you about a new hire. It's become known to me that there may be a...conflict of interest."</p><p>"Who?" she asked, but then saw a smiling face staring up at her from a photo on Richard's desk. "Him?"</p><p>"Do you recognize him?" Richard watched as her eyes remained locked on the photo, undoubtedly searching her memories for an answer.</p><p>"I don't. No, sorry sir. Although, he seems familiar. Who is he?"</p><p>After a short silence, Meredith looked into Richard's eyes and it was enough confirmation. "He worked with her?" she asked slowly. They both knew who 'her' was.</p><p>"For a brief period. Only a few weeks while their units were merged," Richard explained.</p><p>"Why does he look so familiar if I never met him?"</p><p>"You know very well as I that his face was in the report. There's no avoiding his picture."</p><p>"He could've...he could've been there! Wh-what if he'd seen..I mean.." Meredith tried to take a few moments to calm herself, but it didn't seem to work.</p><p>Webber eyed the resident, and his heart dropped. Seeing Meredith's amount of care only broke his heart further. To avoid becoming emotional, he decided he would keep this strictly professional, as he could not have his surgeons falling apart at work.</p><p>"Dr. <em>Grey</em>," he addressed formally, "Given your mutual link, do I have to worry about any problems surfacing when you work with him?"</p><p>"No, Dr. Webber. Should any issues arise, I'll bring them straight to you," she spoke firmly.</p><p>"Good to know. Thank you, Meredith," Richard said, dismissing her.</p><p>On her way out, she paused in the doorway. Her hand was on the frame, and her posture deflated slightly.</p><p>"Chief?" she asked.</p><p>"Yes, Meredith?" he looked up from the man's file on his desk.</p><p>"Can I talk to him? Before I act like nothing ever happened?" she couldn't help from feeling a tad hopeful.</p><p>"Only if he agrees," Webber responded.</p><p>"Thanks."</p><p>Her smile fell the moment Richard couldn't see her face, and she walked out of his office. She'd done an impeccable job at stuffing her feelings on this matter deep...deep down.</p><hr/><p>She'd just been paged for an incoming trauma at the ambulance bay. Sure enough, <em>he</em> was there. Of course he was, why wouldn't he be?</p><p>Meredith was tying the yellow translucent gown when Cristina came up from behind her. "He's here. I can't believe he's here. He literally signed a contract with the chief last week."</p><p>"Who? Who's here?" Meredith asked, finishing off her pathetic excuse for a bow.</p><p>"Icicle guy," Cristina answered, and half-heartedly pointed towards Owen Hunt, who was leaning against a wall seemingly impatient. It was as if he'd been waiting ten minutes. Maybe he had been.</p><p>Meredith sighed. She never met him, but of course Cristina told her about the man who 'saved' the damsel in distress, though it was hard to imagine her as a damsel in distress. She wasn't surprised that the surgeon who removed Cristina's icicle was the same one who she planned to interrogate later on. Meredith should've been, but she wasn't. It was her normal.</p><p>Cristina was breathing heavily and Meredith noticed that she was...nervous. She wasn't the type to be nervous.</p><p>"Cristina.." she made it sound like a question and an accusation all in one.</p><p>"We kissed. I mean he kissed me. It was stupid," she turned to face Meredith. "It was nothing. It was a stupid nothing."</p><p>All preconceived notions on Hunt vanished when she noticed the look on Cristina's face.</p><p>"But you don't think he thinks it was a stupid nothing," Meredith smiled.</p><p>"Well, I mean, he obviously likes me, and now he's back. What's he doing back?" It didn't take a genius to see that Cristina was freaking out.</p><p>"You don't think he quit the military for you. I mean, that would be severely stalkery, but very romantic."</p><p>"I'm not getting involved with another attending," Cristina said firmly. With those words, Meredith figured the reason her person was freaking out. No one needed a repeat of Burke.</p><p>An ambulance arrived, and Cristina and Bailey took the patient inside, leaving Meredith, Owen, and her interns remaining.</p><p>Being as good a chance as any, she made a move to walk towards the new head of trauma, but the second ambulance had already come barreling down the road. Of course the EMT's chose <em>now</em> to arrive.</p><p>She forced all thoughts of interrogating Hunt into a little box to be opened later. Patient trumps personal problems. The doors opened and out came the paramedic spouting information.</p><p>When Meredith wasn't working with Bailey on the girl with the inoperable tumor, she was watching Owen Hunt in action. He was incredibly good at his job, no surprise there. Not only had she been watching him, she'd been looking for the perfect moment to go up to him. Every time she found a suitable moment, a nurse would walk up to him. Seemed she wasn't the only one watching, only she had different reasons than the nurses.</p><p>She heard doors open and saw him standing at the threshold. He was done with his surgery, and she scanned his face to see if he had lost his patient or not. Thankfully, he had a smile on his face.</p><p>Right as she mustered up the courage, Izzie walked up to her. She must've noticed Meredith's furrowed brows, and her eyes intently focused on something because she asked, "What's wrong?"</p><p>"Nothing," Meredith replied quickly. She noticed Izzie's skepticism and realized she answered a little too quickly. Even though both knew it was a lie, Izzie thankfully let it go.</p><p>"Remember the skills lab you so fortunately got out of?"</p><p>Meredith nodded, and Izzie continued, "Hunt had everyone work on pigs. Pigs! That was only after he stabbed them!"</p><p>"And he was allowed to do that?" Meredith raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"He was. It's inhumane. Leaving didn't stop him from cornering me with precedent cases. Like horses and tetanus. It felt really good to tell him off."</p><p>"Good for you, Iz," she said distractedly.</p><p>"What's on your mind?" Izzie asked, leaning her back against a nurses station. Meredith was facing the opposite direction, and didn't notice George was walking up from behind her.</p><p>"Hmm? Oh...Well, I-I uh.." Meredith's pager went off and she was extremely grateful. "Sorry. It's Bailey. She wants me to monitor Tori Begler, the girl who had the abdominal leiomyosarcoma."</p><p>George and Izzie shared a look before she darted off. Meredith faintly heard Izzie tell George about the pigs. She was glad she didn't leave Izzie standing there alone.</p><hr/><p>"Seriously, you don't remember my name?" Cristina asked Owen, after they discussed the matter of the pigs.</p><p>"I remember your name, but that was before." He sighed, knowing he'd have to elaborate. Owen moved next to Cristina and hunched over the railing.</p><p>"This last tour, I was on a forward surgical team. We, uh..treated combat casualties in the field. You're mostly just looking to do damage control - sedate 'em, ventilate 'em, airlift 'em to Baghdad, then get out of there.</p><p>Only this one time, we didn't get out fast enough because we ended up in the middle of an R.P.G ambush. There were twenty people in my unit, including me, and nineteen died. And then I got discharged."</p><p>Cristina didn't want to pry, but she had to know, "Were all the tours similar to that?"</p><p>"Only one other. It wasn't as bad, considering. Our numbers were already thinned, and our unit merged with another. After we merged, there were twenty-three of us. In just over two weeks, we went from twenty-three, to seven. In that time, I became close to many of them, which made it harder. My closest friend from that time was one of those who didn't come back. She...she was amazing. They never found her," he noticed he was drifting and got back to the point.</p><p>"So...I'm not there anymore, in the before," Owen finished his story and reluctantly let his gaze drift to Cristina, where tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "I knew your name before. But now I'm living in the after," he said before walking away, with Cristina staring after him.</p><hr/><p>After monitoring Tori for a while, Meredith got a page from the chief to one of the conference rooms. She didn't mind being near him in the morning, but he'd spent the day distancing himself. For some crazy reason, she thought it began the moment he saw her Anatomy Jane doll she found from her childhood.</p><p>Even though he was expecting her, she still knocked on the door.</p><p>"Come in." Unlike last time, his voice was gruff. When she walked in, he was slouched over on the table. A stack of files sat diagonally to his right, where a few were directly in front of him.</p><p>"You paged?" she asked rhetorically after the door closed behind her.</p><p>"Yeah, um, how's Tori?" he asked, and Meredith could tell that wasn't what he wanted to talk about.</p><p>"Oh, she's good. Stable."</p><p>"Yeah," he said quietly, and the small talk made everything ten times more uncomfortable. She stood, and he sat, but they were both nodding longer than they had to.</p><p>He looked down, sighed, and looked back up, into her eyes, "You weren't imagining things."</p><p>She was momentarily confused. Imagining what? Then she remembered her conversation with him in the scrub room earlier.</p><p>
  <em>Richard was watching the nurses prep the OR from the scrub room window, when Meredith came in.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I have a question," she stated. She took his silence as an invitation to continue, "Why aren't we taking out the kidney since the left renal artery is involved?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Because we can remove the tumor without doing that, so why bother?" he answered in a monotonous voice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Meredith looked at him, and he was staring down at his mask, fidgeting with the already tied strings.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I have another question."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Why can't you look at me?" she asked. That got a reaction out of him. His fingers froze, and he looked up, back into the OR.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>From his facial expressions and his nervous gulps, she could tell he knew full well why he couldn't look at her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You can't look at me. You haven't been able to look at me all day."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>However, he dismissed this. "I think you're imagining things."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh. I don't think I am."</em>
</p><p>Richard continued speaking, "You used to run around here with that doll all the time. Took her everywhere - the cafeteria, the OR gallery. Tori's got a whole army. You didn't have anyone. Seeing anatomy Jane...it reminded me of how much I was to blame for that. You're a living reminder of every failure in my life. That's not your fault. And if I thought 'I'm sorry' would hold any meaning for you at all, I would say it. I'd say it a thousand times a day."</p><p>Meredith wasn't sure what to do. She just stood there, staring blankly at him. He was sorry, she knew that. But he was right, it didn't mean anything. Actions speak louder than words.</p><p>The air was swimming with tension, and Richard again broke the uncomfortable silence.</p><p>"So, uh..did you get to speak to Hunt?" He switched the subject.</p><p>"I-" she was relieved to have her mind on something else, even if the topic was equally exhausting. "I did not. He's had a busy day, haven't we all?"</p><p>Richard nodded absentmindedly. Some tension and other unnamed feelings lingered in the surrounding air, but it was less suffocating.</p><p>A question came to mind that made Meredith realize that she'd been so focused on her own feelings, she didn't think for a second about Richard.</p><p>"Did she-did Ellis tell you?"</p><p>The answer she received was a head shake. Ellis didn't even tell Richard about the child that came before Meredith. Not when she thought her to be dead, and not when she showed up over a decade ago. Meredith was willing to let the second one slide, as Ellis had already moved to Boston and broken off whatever it was with Richard.</p><p>She stood in silence for another minute before heading for the door. When she opened it, she stood face to face with Owen Hunt. Her mind was screaming: <em>Now? I'm unprepared! I wasn't even searching for him!</em> Now was her chance. Now was all she had. Now was when she would learn what happened to her sister.</p><p>Meredith was about to speak when he said, "Excuse me Dr. Grey. Could I have a moment alone with the chief?"</p><p>Her mind was telling her to stay put and get her answers, but she said, "I was just leaving. He's all yours." With that, she walked past him, and down the hall to the residents lounge. She was already berating and chastising herself for letting a perfectly good opportunity slip out of her hands. And she doesn't usually let things slip. If she did, she wouldn't be a surgeon.</p><p>After changing into her street clothes, she sat on the bench, and pulled out her phone. She had to scroll to the bottom of her messages list before finding their contact. Meredith hadn't talked to this person in so long, but all the stuff with her sister resurfacing, they were the only person she could talk to.</p><p>
  <strong>Hey. It's been a while, but I was bombarded with memories today. Feel like talking for hours on end like we used to? -M</strong>
</p><p>She put her phone away and drove out of the parking lot.</p><p>Halfway home she remembered that she and Derek had carpooled with Alex and Izzie. She somehow managed to forget all three of them. It wasn't often when their shifts coincided.</p><p>Meredith turned into the nearest gas station to fill her car. While she was waiting, her phone began buzzing, and she immediately grabbed it. She was disappointed because it was Derek. But it was Derek, come on! She answered his call.</p><p>"Hello?"</p><p>"<em>Meredith, where are you? My shift just ended and you're nowhere to be found</em>," Derek said, and she could hear some concern in his voice.</p><p>"I'm at a gas station. My mind was preoccupied when I left the hospital, but I'm about to be on my way back to pick you guys up."</p><p>"<em>Izzie and Alex called a cab. It's just me</em>," his breath hitched, and she knew what he was about to ask.</p><p>"Derek, nothing happened, okay? It's just been a rough day. I'll be back at the hospital in about five minutes," she said quickly, and then hung up.</p><p>She heard the click that meant the tank was full, and put the pump back in its original place. Meredith was about to drive off when her phone vibrated. This time it was a single buzz, and she knew it wasn't a phone call.</p><p>
  <strong>It's been so long, I can't believe you still have my number. I'm always down for endless chatter. Do you still live in Seattle? -R</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I do. Are you wanting to meet up?</strong>
</p><p><strong>Always.</strong> Then a second text came in. <strong>Always want to, but I'm working tomorrow, and the following days. So that's a no go. Will modern texting suffice? -R</strong></p><p>She smiled at their humor and texted back. <strong>Of course. I have a pretty demanding job so I understand. I work pretty much every day.</strong></p><p>
  <strong>I was so glad to hear from you. Can't wait to talk to you more. I'm gonna knock out pretty soon. Don't be a stranger.</strong>
</p><p>She put her phone on her lap, and smiled. Meredith was about to put the car in drive when her phone vibrated, and she picked it up once more.</p><p>
  <strong>It's okay to let yourself grieve. Maybe whatever opened the wounds can help you find solace.</strong>
</p><p>Their words replayed in her head when her phone buzzed again. When she opened the text, her eyes widened.</p><p>
  <strong>You know...they never did find a body. -R</strong>
</p><p>If her phone wasn't vital to her work, she would have thrown it out of the window. Who were they to suggest that she may be alive?</p><p>
  <em>But maybe…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No. Damn them for putting that thought into my head.</em>
</p><p>The best alternative to throwing her phone out of the window was to put her phone on silent, and she did. After calming herself enough to drive, she pulled out of the gas station and once again headed for the hospital to pick up her forgotten boyfriend.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please review/comment. It can be what you liked, what you think, or suggestions on what can be improved! Reviews are like chocolate cake, although I don't like cake so bad analogy. And now I'm rambling!</p><p>Just please review!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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